My Dog chews on EVERYTHING!!!?

Question

my dachshund chews on everything and I'm scared she is going to hurt herself. she chews pens, pencils, stuffed animals, toys, and anything that she can get her mouth on!! how do i make her stop??

Answer 1

Your puppy is very young so she is curious about the environment. Dogs don't have hands like we do, so they learn through their mouth. The best way to teach a young dog is through the use of positive reinforcement techniques. Here are some things to try:

1. Redirect your puppy onto a chew toy

If she is biting on something she shouldn't, non-mark her (No/ack, ack) and put a toy in her mouth. You don't need to shove it in, just put it there for her to bite on.

2. Hand-feed her

You can try and teach her some bite inhibition. Hand-feed her some kibble one by one. If she bites too hard while trying to get at her food, yelp in a high pitch, and ignore her for a few seconds. Then start feeding her again. This way she learns that biting hard can hurt humans and when she does that, the food and attention stops. Hand-feeding is also good for bonding and establishing your leadership.

3. If she continues her bad biting behavior and escalates it even after you have told her to stop, then say "timeout" and remove her to a time-out area (boring but safe room, e.g. laundry room). This way she learns that when she bites, she no longer gets to be with people.

4. If she is just biting on furniture, and other household objects, you can spray bitter apple on them.

When you are not around to supervise, crate her or put her in a long-term enclosure (e.g. kitchen) if you will be away for > 2-3 hours. Put bedding, puppy pads, water bowl, and lots of safe chew toys and food toys in the enclosure.

Answer 2

Stop letting her get her mouth on them, keep things picked up and put away.

When you see her go for something she shouldn't tell her NO firmly, wait a couple seconds then give her a toy of her own. When she takes it, praise her lavishly. Also praise her when you see her chewing on her toys on her own. She may get up to come to you, that's ok, she's gotten the message that you like it when she chews her own toys.

Answer 3

I bought plastic stretch wrap at Walmart in the packing supplies aisle, and I stretch wrapped all the furniture, wicker baskets, table legs... anything that was large. Unfortunately, I did this AFTER pup chewed a hole in the side of our leather sofa!  Then I kicked my cleaning up a notch to remove all pens and pencils. But when the pup came in the house with pine cones and sticks and proceeded to chow down on them, I relaxed just a bit. Make sure to give her plenty of doggie chewables. Give her a kong toy filled with peanut butter or cream cheese. This will keep her busy for a long time--eating the filling and chewing on the toy. MOST IMPORTANT TRAINING TOOL....When she starts chewing on something that is a "no-no" take it away and replace it with a doggie chewable. Now, my pup brings me her kong toy (which I fill with peanut butter and a handful of dog food) instead of pine cones, plastic pens, and on occasion, my favorite shoes.

Answer 4

That's why you have to dog proof everything in your house. Make sure she doesn't find anything that can harm her.

Answer 5

get a tin can and put a penny in it... when she chews on something that you dont want her to shake the can and take it away from her, then give her a toy that she can chew on... also there is this stuff that is called bitter apple spray, if u spray it on stuff that you dont want her to have she wont chew on it (a few dogs do like it though)

Answer 6

Most pet stores have a spray that you can put on stuff that tastes bad to the dog and it will not hurt them. If that doesn't work then mix a little hot sauce and water and spray on say a pencil or something you don't want her chewing, that may make her think twice next time. Not too strong on the hot sauce though, you don't want to hurt her.